Right to Information Act, 2005

The Right to Information Act, 2005, is an act of the Parliament of India that grants Indian citizens a statutory right to request information from public authorities, replacing an earlier and more limited Freedom of Information Act of 2002 that had never been brought fully into force. It requires a public authority to respond to an information request within thirty days, or within forty-eight hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, and it requires every public authority to proactively publish certain categories of information about its structure, functions and decision-making even without a specific request. The act created a system of Information Commissioners at the central and state levels to hear appeals from applicants whose requests are refused or inadequately answered, and it sets out a limited list of exemptions, covering matters such as national security and ongoing investigations, under which information can lawfully be withheld. Since coming into force in October 2005, the act has been widely used by journalists, activists and ordinary citizens to expose corruption and government inefficiency, and it is generally regarded as one of the most significant transparency and anti-corruption reforms in independent India's history.